Ramana Maharshi: On Non-Doership

By Vijay Vancheswar

‘The greatest mental tapas is to give up one’s sense of Doership with the firm conviction that not even a leaf moves except by His Will...’
– BhagavanRamanaMaharshi

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi’s teaching focusses on identifying one’s true nature by answering the query ‘Who am I?’ His core message emphasizes the importance of annihilating one’s false sense of individuality and volition. The sage recommends either the path of unconditional and total surrender to the will of the Divine or a relentless enquiry into the source of one’s thoughts to subsume and merge it in the Self or Consciousness. While Sri Ramana’s method is uncompromising in directing one’s attention to the unchanging Reality on which life as we see it appears and disappears, he categorically states that all events that a body has to go through or experience are predestined.

This book collates the sayings of Ramana Maharshi on the importance of relinquishing one’s sense of doership (kartitva) intellectually and more importantly in day-to-day living. This, according to Bhagavan Ramana, is a prerequisite to progressing on the spiritual path.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vijay Vancheswar
• Release date: May 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9789393254993

Vijay Vancheswar

Vijay Vancheswar is a postgraduate and doctorate in the management discipline from the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T) Delhi. A corporate executive turned academician he has been associated with various management institutes taking courses and programmes on soft skills development including communication and business ethics, integrating aspects of spiritual intelligence in transactions and self-development.He has been associated with the Ramana Kendra in Delhi, dedicated to promoting the teachings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi in various capacities including the editor of its publication Direct Path and vice president of its management committee.He is also a contributor to the spiritual column ‘Speaking Tree’ of the national daily, The Times of India where he writes about spirituality in daily living by integrating the key aspects of the teachings of Bhagavan Ramana and Shirdi Sai Baba.He lives in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, South India with his wife Annapurna, a professional in the environment management area.

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Ramana Maharshi: On Non-Doership

By Vijay Vancheswar

Copyright © 2024 Vijay Vancheswar

First Edition: April 2024

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Contents

SECTION 1

Overview: Perspectives On Doership

SECTION 2

Ego, Egoism, Freedom & Freewill: Finer Nuances

SECTION 3

Maharshi’s Gospels: Doership

SECTION 4

Ramana Maharshi on Doership

SECTION 5

Epilogue

About the Author

SECTION 1    

Overview: Perspectives On Doership

INTRODUCTION

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts…

– William Shakespeare, As You Like It

There’s a divinity that shapes our end,

Rough-hew them how you will.

– William Shakespeare, Hamlet

A man can do as he wills, but not will as he will.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

Everything is determined by forces over which we have no control.

It is determined for the insect as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust…we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.

– Albert Einstein¹

Reality is an Illusion, albeit a very persistent one.²,³

– Albert Einstein

The subject of ‘doership’ has and will always lead to differences and arguments. Why? For one simple reason: the wise do not discuss it; lesser mortals fall into the trap of endless diatribe on this contentious topic.

The quotes such as those above from eminent personalities of yore in the field of literature, science and spirituality, subscribe to the inevitable force of destiny and man’s inability to change it. And yet human beings are designed not to accept their lack of control. Why is this so? Spiritual masters and sages like Ramana Maharshi and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa among others, have clearly mentioned at various time the need for acceptance of ‘prarabdha’⁴,⁵ as far as experiences of the mortal frame in the phenomenal world are concerned.

Says Swami Sivananda, "Prarabdha is that portion of the past karma which is responsible for the present body." That portion of the ‘sanchita karma’ (collection of one’s karma) which influences human life in the present incarnation is called ‘prarabdha’. It is ripe for reaping. It cannot be avoided or changed. It is only exhausted by being experienced. You pay your past debts. It is selected out of the mass of the ‘sanchita karma’.⁶

Ramana Maharshi accepted the validity of the laws of karma but said that they were only applicable as long as a person imagined that he was separate from the Self. At this level (the level of the ‘ajnani’ or the ignorant), he says individuals will pass through a series of pre-ordained activities and experiences, all of which are the consequences of previous acts and thoughts. He also says that every act and experience in